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In Memoriam: Diane Ainsworth, 56

  • In Memoriam: Diane Ainsworth, 56

April 2, 2009 2:23 PM

Diane Ainsworth, a science writer for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, died of an aneurysm on March 29 in her Altadena home, according to her father Donald Ainsworth. She was 56.

Ainsworth had more than 25 years of experience covering science and technology at four major California universities.

She joined USC in 2003, where she became a prolific writer and editor, contributing hundreds of stories to USC media, including the USC Viterbi Engineer magazine (which she edited), the school’s Web site, USC Chronicle and Trojan Family Magazine.

She also assisted faculty and engineering administration in the preparation of fact sheets, mailers and other material. A skilled photographer, she illustrated many of her own stories.

“Diane was a very dedicated, hard-working employee,” said USC Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos. “In 2008 she took over as editor of the Viterbi Engineer magazine, an activity she was particularly proud of. Under her management, the quality of the magazine significantly improved.

“Diane related very well to faculty and staff, which is reflected in the quality of stories she generated,” Yortsos added. “She was very interested and curious about research at the school and was the person in charge of our NAE Grand Challenges section and its stories. We will miss her professionalism, kindness and dedication.”

Before coming to USC, Ainsworth worked as a science writer for the Berkeleyan, the faculty and staff newspaper at the University of California, Berkeley, in the school’s public affairs office. Previously, she spent 12 years as a media relations specialist at the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, covering such landmark events as NASA Mars missions, earth observation satellites and arranging media access to shuttle missions. She joined JPL after working at the UCLA public affairs office, where she was a staff writer.

Before coming to academia, she was a reporter for the Associated Press and a public information officer at the RAND Corp.

Ainsworth earned a master’s from Cal State University, Northridge and a bachelor’s from UCLA, both in cultural anthropology.

She is survived by her father and mother, Virginia, and her brothers Stephen John Ainsworth and Donald Ainsworth III.

The engineering school will hold a memorial gathering on a date and location to be announced. The family requests any memorial donations go to the American Heart Association.